Apple wins ruling blocking U.S. sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

A Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 at the World IT Show 2012 in South Korea. (SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg)

Andrea Chang

Apple, which has been embroiled in a bitter patent fight with Samsung Electronics, won a court order Tuesday blocking the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the U.S.

The preliminary injunction will be in effect while the two technology giants litigate Apple's patent infringement claims.

“Although Samsung will necessarily be harmed by being forced to withdraw its product from the market before the merits can be determined after a full trial, the harm faced by Apple absent an injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is greater,” U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose said in the eight-page ruling. “Apple’s interest in enforcing its patent rights is particularly strong because it has presented a strong case on the merits.”

Apple and Samsung have been lobbing patent infringement claims against each other for months. Apple has accused its rival of copying the look and function of its mobile devices.

After Tuesday’s ruling, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet reiterated a previous comment from the Cupertino, Calif., company, calling Samsung’s actions “blatant copying” and saying it was “no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad.”

A Samsung representative could not be reached for comment.

The ruling was issued after the markets closed. During regular trading, shares of Apple rose $1.26 to $572.03.